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Book Signing with Hardy Jackson at Coastal Branch Library SEPT 25

The South Walton Community Council (SWCC) is pleased to host author Hardy Jackson and Sundog Books at its next public forum. Hardy will trace the development of the Florida-Alabama coast, or the “Redneck Riviera” as a tourist destination from the late 1920s when 30A was sparsely populated with small villages through the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010. Jackson will discuss his book, The Rise and Fall of the Redneck Riviera, and focus on the history of C. R. 30A in his September 25th presentation at the Coastal Branch Library at 7PM. Sundog Books will be there with copies of the book for signing.

Jackson’s book is a culmination of sixteen years of research drawn from local newspapers, interviews, documentaries, community histories, and scholarly studies. From his 1950s-built Seagrove Beach cottage and on frequent trips to the Alabama coast, Jackson witnessed the changes that have come to the area and has recorded them in a personal, in-depth look at the history and culture of the coast. He writes about the Gulf Coast with an insight and love that makes you want to travel back in time and stick your toes in the sands of its history.

Jackson has taught at colleges and universities in Florida and Georgia and is the author, co-author or co-editor of eleven books on various aspects of Southern History. Reared in Clarke County, Alabama, chasing “submarines and alligators” along the Alabama River and whiling summers away on the Florida Panhandle, Jackson is as far away from a tweedy academic as you can get. He glories in offshore fishing and makes you want to splash in the water and sway in a hammock. Hardy lives in Seagrove Beach, Florida and Jacksonville, Alabama with his wife, Suzanne, their son Will and daughters Anna and Kelly.

The SWCC is an organization of residents, business owners and property owners whose mission is to advocate for the preservation, protection and enhancement of the quality of life and natural environment of south Walton County. To contact the SWCC call (850) 314-3749 or visit its website at www.southwaltoncc.org.